Electrically-operated railway-crossing gate.



T. HUMMEL.

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED RAILWAY CROSSING GATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.6,1909.

943,352. Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Fiq. 2.

' WITNESSES.- INVENTOR wk Q3. mum T o as Hummel W 7 BY :4TTORNEY.

T. HUMMEL. BLECTRICALLY OPERATED RAILWAY CROSSING GATE.

APPLIGATION FILED MAR. 6, 1909.

943,352, Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR.

04m A. W BY oMAsHuMMEL ATTORNEY.

THOMAS HUMMEL, OF DALLAS, TEXAS.

ELECTRICALLY-OPERATED. RAILWAY-CROSSING GATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14, .1909,

Application filed March 6, 1909. Serial No. 481,759.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS HUMMEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrically O erated Railway-Crossing Gates, of which i 1e fol lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in railway gates.

The object of the invention is to provide a railway gate to be electrically operated and which may be controlled from a point distant from the gate itself, whose arm, or arms will be lowered by the ma gnetic energy of an electrical solenoid, and which will be raised automatically, on the opening of the electrical circuit, by counter weights upon the arms.

Another object is the provision of an electrically operated railway gate, which in lowering will automatically ring a signal bell as warning and which will automatically light electric lamps upon the arm while down.

With the above andvarious other objects in view, the invention has relation to certain novel features of construction and operation, an example of which is described in the following specification, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the railway gate, one side with the casting and its hearing which are attached thereto, being broken away to show the mechanism on the inside, Fig. 2 is a side elevation, part of the casing being again broken away to show the interior workings of the apparatus, Fig. 3 a perspective view of the circuit breaking device, used to break the current in the small solenoid, when the gate is down, and thereby break the circuit containing the electric bell, and Fig. 4 is a diagram of the electrical connections.

in the drawings, the numeral 1, designates the casing within which, the controlling mechanism of the railway gate is placed.

2 is a large, hollow solenoid, which is the main agent in lowering the gate.

8 is an iron core, supported freely in the hollow center of a solenoid, by flexible wire cable, 4. The cable 4 extends around half the circumference of grooved pulley 5 and is securely attached to the rim thereon at a point 6. The pulley 5 is mounted on a shaft 7 which is supported in bearings 8 upheld by angle irons 9.

10 is a casting of which two are employed, and which extend on each side of the casing and are fixedly mounted upon the shaft 7. The two arms of these castings curve together at one end and between them is securely fastened a long arm 11, which carries the incandescent lamps 12. The weight of the long arm 11 is counterbalanced by weighted portions 13.01? the castings 10, the weight being sufficient to return the arm to a vertical position, when the solenoid ceases to hold it down. When the arm 11 is re turning to a vertical position, a dash-pot 14: acts as a check upon its velocity, preventing a too rapid return and the consequent shock to the apparatus. Within the dash-pot 14, slides a plunger 15,-which is provided with suitable valves for the passage of the glycerin, or other iluid, used in the dash-pot. The plunger 1.5 is attached to a connecting rod 16 at point 17 in such a manne" that the connecting rod may swing freely about the connecting axes in a direction, longitudinal with the pulley wheel, with which the rod 16 is connected.

18 is a short rod passing through a cular slot 19 in the grooved pulley 5, capable of adjustment in said circular by lock nuts or other suitable means. At one side of the grooved pulley, upon this red is revolubly inounteda fiber roller 20, and at the other extremity of the same rod is pivotally connected the rod 16. The fiber roller 20 operates the circuit breaking device, a detail of which is shown in perspective in Fig. 3. In this device, carbon contacts 21 are mounted in frames 22, attached to a support 23. Binding posts 24 furnish a means for attaching the wires. Si 'lar carbon contacts :25 are fastened in a lame :26, which is supported by an arm 27. A spring 28 holds the two sets of carbon in contact and a hinge 529 permits the upper set to be lifted by the fiber roller 20, just as the gate reaches its horizontal position, thus breaking the circuit.

30 is a plate or panel of slate or other in sulating material which is atfixed to the side of the casing. Upon this panel 30 is mounted a small hollow solenoid 31, in which is freely supported an iron core 32, carrying upon its lower extremity a cross-piece cirand

slot

When the small solenoid 31 is magnetized by an electric current, the core 32 is drawn up, and the cross piece 33 produces a contact between the points 34 which points are in circuit with the batteries 35 and the electric bell 36. The bell 36 is mounted in a box .37, located on top of the casing and provided with perforated sides to permit the free exit of sound. In Fig. 1 this box is shown with the front sides removed to show the bell.

In the diagram shown in Fig. 4 38 designates a switch tov be placed in the watch tower or other convenient lace. \Vhen this switch is closed, current in the lighting mains or from. any convenient source passes through the circuit, magnetizing the large solenoid 2, and thereby drawing down the iron core 3 and lowering the gate. Referring now more particularly to Fig. 4, it is to be noted that the lamps 12 are not lighted until the gate is down; since the two sets of carbons 21 and 25 are not separated until then, and the current takes the path of least resistance through the small solenoid and circuit breaker while the latter is closed. Until the gate is down and the circuit breaks open the small solenoid 31 is magnetized, thus closing the bell circuitnnd ringing the bell. The fiber roller 20 is so situated upon the side of the grooved pulley that just as the arm reaches a horizontal position, this roller rises beneath the frame 26 of the circuit breaker, lifting the carboncontact 25 and thus breaking the circuit. The small solenoid is then demagnetized, the core is released and the contact between the points 34' is broken. Thus the bell rings only when the arm is being lowered. When the switch 38 is open the core of the large solenoid 2 is released, permitting the arms to be brought to a vertical osition again by the weighted ortions 13 of the castings 10.

What claim, is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with rotatable arms, of a shaft to which said arms are attached, a pulley upon said shaft, an iron core suspended from the rim of said pulley and actuating the same by its motion and a solenoid within which said core is suspended and which actuates said core.

2. In a device of a character described, the combination with rotatable arms, of shafts upon which said arms are mounted, a grooved pulley mounted on one of said shafts and rotating therewith, a, re e or cable suspended from the oove 0 said pulley, and transmitting motion to it, and a metal core suspended from said rope or cable and transmitting motion to it, a solenoid within which said metal core is suspended and which actuates the same, means for counter balancing the weight of said arms and returning them to an upright position, and means for checking the velocity of the arms and regaining their vertical positions.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with rotatably mounted arms, of rotatable means upon which said shafts are mounted, means for transmitting the rotation of such means, from one rotating member to another, a hollow electrical solenoid and means for lowering said arms and closing the gate, weights to counter balance the weight of said arms and return them to an upright position, a dashpot, to check the velocity with which the arms regain their upright position, a circuit breaking device to be opened by the rotation of a rotating member as the arms reach a horizontal position, a small solenoid, connected in series with said circuit breaker and having a freely suspended core by the motion of which two points may be electrically connected, an electrical circuit, containing a bell and batteries, whose circuit is broken at said two points and a circuit containing lights in parallel with the circuit containing the circuit breaker and the small solenoid, said lamps having a higher resistance'than said small solenoid.

4. In a railway crossing gate, the combination with rotatably mounted arms, of shafts upon which said arms are mounted, a pulley mounted on one of said shafts, r0- tating therewith, an electrical solenoid, which on closing the circuit in which it is placed causes said arms to rotate from an upright to a horizontal position, a metal core suspended within sai hollow solenoid, and vertically actuated by the same, means for sus ending said metal core from said pulley, by WhlCh means said pulley may be rotated, a dash-pot whereby the velocity of the ascending arms is restricted, means for connecting said dash pot to said pulley, restricting the velocity with which the same rotates, means for returning the arm automatically from a horizontal to a vertical position, a circuit breakin device in series with a small solenoid w ich cuts out said solenoid as the arm reaches a horizontal position, means attached to a rotating member whereby said circuit breaking device is operated, an electric circuit inclu ing a bell and batteries, which circuit is open or closed cuit, including a source of electromotive force, a switch, a light and said solenoid, a shunt circuit in parallel with said light, containing a circuit breaker, adapted to be mechanically opened when the gate isdown, and containing an automatic switch whereby a third circuit is closed when the shunt circuit is electrified, and a third circuit, containing an electric bell and source of electro-motive force, whose source is normally 10 broken by said automatic switch.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

THOMAS HUMMEL.

Witnesses:

G. H. EGAN, T. H. BEIZE. 

